Maniac Cop remake gets producers and writer

Drive director Nicholas Winding Refn is to produce the remake of 1988 slasher film Maniac Cop. If that isn’t exiting enough in its own right, the script will be penned by Ed Brubaker, the Eisner Award winning writer who was responsible for Captain America: The Winter Soldier. William Lustig, who was in the director’s chair first time around, will also be producing. French distributor Wild Bunch will reveal the director later this month at Cannes.

The original cult classic centred on Matt Cordell, a New York cop who (SPOILER ALERT) is framed then murdered in prison. His thirst for vengeance was so great that he rose from the dead to seek out retribution on those that had wronged him, and anyone else that got in his way. Imagine Michael Myers with a badge and you get the idea. The film spawned two sequels (one great, one poor) before Cordell (Robert Z’Dar) was left to rest in peace.

The pedigree of those involved so far suggests that the studio are taking this seriously. Well, as seriously as you can take a film about an unstoppable scarred up zombie policeman with a sword concealed in his nightstick.

Z’Dar is as synonymous with the role as Robert Englund is with Freddy so let the casting rumours commence.